GetPapa Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

beresfordjd I saw this as a child and it enchanted me and it stayed with me for years. How disappointed was I as a grown up that it had dated so badly. It was annoying and trite and made me a little uncomfortable. Danny Kaye was a favourite of mine many years ago with his Mitty movie and The Court Jester ( the pellet with the poison routine still cracks me up). He was rather subdued in this film and I now find the songs I loved too cheesy and very much fifties. The ballet sequences are terrifically staged and still work brilliantly. Who knew Zizi Jeanmaire was the person in Peter Sarsted's song?! Perhaps it still works for children even now but not for adults. The songs I remember were a staple of fifties radio and are a part of my childhood and speak of a much more innocent time.

mike48128 Samuel Goldwyn was a genius. This is an oft-overlooked classic where the songs (by Frank Loesser) are better known than the movie: "Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen", "Inchworm", "Ugly Duckling" and "Thumbelina."Presented as a fairy tale, it bears no resemblance to a biography of Hans Christian Andersen, and says so right at the beginning. Hans is a cobbler in an obscure Danish village and wants nothing more out of life that the right to enjoy it and tell stories to the children. The schoolmaster wants Hans to leave town because he disrupts the school. He is persuaded by his "apprentice" to visit Copenhagen. So he does. He falls in love with a beautiful ballerina there.(Jeanmarie) He fantasizes marrying her and writes the story of "The Little Mermaid," which becomes a successful ballet with her in the starring role. He makes special ballet slippers for the ballerina to wear. He returns home, after realizing that she is very happily married, where he is now a celebrated author, loved and respected by all the townspeople.The Emperor's New Clothes" (The "King is in the All-Together") is sung to the children, as are all the stories he tells. No animation here, although Walt Disney's Studios were considered. They are all well-acted out by Danny Kaye, especially Thumbelina, with a thumb puppet and a handkerchief. All of his stories have a moral and enrich the lives of the children that hear them.The ballet scenes are a real stand-out, but they might be a little slow for some, and were often shortened for TV viewing. Good special effects, and "flying on wire" to simulate mermaid swimming. Not exactly the Wizard of Oz, but very well-filmed in brilliant Technicolor, with beautiful sets and costumes.Some of the reviewers obviously do not appreciate this movie, making comments about the ballet and the film's dialog. I suppose they think that maybe Danny Kaye was gay just because he sang and danced? He was married and had one child, a daughter, Dora.Danny Kaye gives a somewhat subdued performance here and, as noted before, this film is often overlooked. I believe it is one of his best.

Petri Pelkonen This is a movie that's based on the life of the Danish storyteller, H.C.Andersen (1805-1875).Except that it's not.It's more like a fairy tale of his life.Hans is a cobbler living in Odense, a small town in Denmark.He keeps telling fairy tales to local children, which makes the schoolmaster furious, since they rather listen to those fairy tales than attend classes.They then decide Hans has to leave.Hans' apprentice Peter doesn't tell him this, but awakes his old dream of going to Copenhagen.The pair sails off to big city, where he meets a beautiful ballerina, Doro.He falls in love with her immediately.Later he finds out she's married to her tyrannical impresario Niels.But he still keeps his dream alive of having her.Also, one of his tales, The Ugly Duckling, gets published in the Gazette newspaper.And The Little Mermaid is made into a ballet.It is Doro who gets to dance the lead.Hans Christian Andersen is directed by Charles Vidor.It's writers are Myles Connolly, Moss Hart and Ben Hecht.Samuel Goldwyn is the producer.This was his final production for RKO Radio Release.Danny Kaye is just the right man to play the lead.He was a great comedian, and he could nail the more serious roles, as well.The part of Doro is played by the now 85 years old ballet dancer Zizi Jeanmaire.This is her first film role.Farley Granger plays the husband Niels.Also her real life husband, Roland Petit, is in the movie as The Prince in The Little Mermaid ballet.The part of Peter is played by Joseph "Joey" Walsh.Philip Tonge is Otto.John Brown plays Schoolmaster.John Qualen is Burgomaster.Ex-dancer Sylvia Lewis is seen as Danseuse/Corps de Ballet.This is a wonderful film for kids and for the inner kids of us adults.It's a great musical with lots of brilliant songs that bring you in a good mood.Wonderful Copenhagen is very catchy.As are many other songs, including The King's New Clothes and I'm Hans Christian Andersen..It's a sweet moment when Hans sings the song of Thumbelina to the little girl outside the jail.The song was nominated for an Academy Award.Also a sweet moment is when he sings the tale of The Ugly Duckling to a friendless boy, who's head has been shaved due to illness.This is a positive movie, that shows us there's nothing a fairy tale can't fix.Of course life's not like that most of the times, but in a fairy tale anything is possible.

Autumn This was the movie that caused me to fall in love with Danny Kaye. I still love watching this movie more than 20 years after I saw it for the first time on television. I love his gentle nature with the children, in particular the little girl he sings "Thumbalina" to. Fabricated or not, this is one of his best films showing the true diversity of an incredibly talented man. Danny Kaye was surely one of the last of a dying Hollywood breed.